In a principal aspect the present invention relates to shopping carts and similar product carriers including means to sanitize or clean and/or disinfect shopping cart handles as well as handles and hand rails that may be provided for various purposes.
Shopping carts and product carriers are commonly provided to a customer by retail stores as a convenient method to collect items and transport them through the store and from the store. Recent research, including a study by the University of Arizona, has shown that shopping cart handles are often unsanitary. Specifically, shopping cart handles were tested to determine their cleanliness and often showed much higher than normal levels of bacteria, germs, and viruses, some of which could pose a serious health hazard to persons unknowingly exposed to such pathogens. Although exposure to unsanitary shopping cart handles poses a potential health hazard to all persons, those especially at risk include children, the elderly, and other individuals with fragile immune systems. This risk is also applicable to other uses of handles such as those incorporated on doors, stairwells, walkways, and the like.
The cause for such high bacteria, germ and virus counts on shopping cart handles and other handles is not surprising given the vast number of people exposed to handles including those on shopping carts each day, and the standard cart maintenance programs recommended by manufacturers of shopping carts and employed by retailers. That is, shopping cart manufacturers typically recommend that shopping carts be pressure washed with water not exceeding 150 degree 2 to 3 times a year. This cleaning method is wholly inadequate to sanitize shopping cart handles. It is known that most pathogens cannot be killed using heated water unless they are exposed to water in excess of 160 degrees F. Accordingly, retailers wishing to protect their customers from the potential health hazards posed by unsanitary shopping cart handles must consider alternative methods. Likewise, handles used in other environments pose similar potential hazards.
In an effort to protect their customers from the potential health hazards posed by unsanitary shopping cart handles, some grocery store and other retailers have begun to offer their customers anti-bacterial and similar pre-treated wipes with which customers may use to wipe down their shopping cart handles to eradicate certain bacteria, germs, and viruses. An example of such a product is Sani-Cart brand wipes which are manufactured by Nice-Pak and marketed to grocery stores and other retailers for this purpose. Other options for sanitary protection include various reusable and disposable prophylactic devices applied to the cart handle to create a physical barrier between the shopping cart handle and the customer's hands. Some of these devices are designed to also cover additional portions of shopping carts, such as the children's seating area.
Unfortunately, the existing prior art methods and devices provide only limited protection from exposure to unsanitary shopping cart handles. Pre-treated wipes, although assumed to be effective in sanitizing shopping cart handles, if used properly, will not effectively protect every customer. This is true for two reasons. First, the inventory of pre-treated wipes and the shopping carts are riot always located in close proximity to one another. For example, shopping carts are often located in a store parking lot and a customer who takes a shopping cart from this or some other location may not have access to pre-treated wipes and thus will not be able to wipe down a shopping cart handle before making physical contact. Moreover, it would be commercially unreasonable and otherwise inconvenient for retailers to attach an inventory of pre-treated wipes to each and every cart. Instead, retailers will typically offer pre-treated wipes in only one location within the store, often near the main shopping cart storage location. The second reason is time. According to the manufacturers' product claims the antibacterial and antimicrobial agents used in such wipes require up to five minutes of direct exposure time after application to a handle surface before they kill many of the most dangerous bacteria, germs, and viruses. The typical customer is unaware of this product disadvantage and, even if aware, is typically not willing to wait to begin shopping.
Prophylactic barrier devices are also generally an ineffective means for protecting customers from exposure to unsanitary shopping cart handles. First, they are too expensive to be offered by retailers free of charge and therefore are typically only available for purchase. Second, due to the difficulty in applying such barrier devices (they are almost impossible to apply without touching the unsanitary shopping cart handle) even those customers who purchase such barrier devices may not be protecting themselves adequately since even casual contact with an unsanitary shopping cart handle is likely to result in the transfer of bacteria, germs, and viruses. A further risk of transmission occurs when such barriers are removed from the shopping cart, especially in the case of reusable barriers, which themselves may become unsanitary after each use and must therefore be sanitized (washed in water exceeding 160 degrees for several minutes) between use in order to offer any meaningful protection.
Finally, neither pre-treated wipes nor prophylactic barriers serve to reduce the average bacteria, germ, and virus count of shopping cart handles in any given store. This is because only those customers who are already aware and able to properly use of either of these protective devices will gain any protection. Those customers, who are not aware of the potential health hazard presented by unsanitary shopping cart handles and who do not use such devices, will continue to be exposed to the health hazard presented by unsanitary shopping cart handles.
Another option is customer use of sanitary gloves. This solution is expensive and time consuming. That is, the cost of sanitary gloves for each shopper is significant in order to guarantee an effective pathogen barrier. Issues of dispensing and disposal of the gloves also arise similar to the challenges of using wipes. Ironically, many store service personnel use and may be required to wear sanitary barrier gloves to protect spread of pathogens. Consequently, the risks of pathogenic exposure has been recognized, but the protective remedy has not been made available to the majority of those who are exposed to the risks.
In sum, the sanitization of shopping cart handles or any similar item which numerous and different individuals will be using remains highly challenging. The desire for a cost effective, functional and easily adopted system has heretofore been unsatisfied.